NATO, Airbus, Hispasat, the Ministry of Defence and international startups and funds discuss the future of European defence technology at South Summit 2026

• "What the wars in Ukraine and Iran have shown us is that technological adaptation is not an abstract term, but a necessity," said Jyoti Hirani-Driver, COO of NATO DIANA, NATO's innovation accelerator. • The president of Airbus, Amparo Moraleda, pointed out how "one of the big problems is that approximately 80% of European defence spending ends up outside the continent. We need to spend more, spend better and spend more within Europe." • Miguel Acosta, founder and CEO of Arquetipo, the first Spanish venture builder specialising in defence and Artificial Intelligence, said that "defensive sovereignty is not just a matter of having the capability, but of having the technology and knowing what you want to do with it". • #SouthSummit26 brings together the institutional support of the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, the Community of Madrid and the Madrid City Council, as well as the support of companies and entities such as Mutua Madrileña, Google for Startups, BBVA Spark, Wayra – Telefónica Innovation and BStartup of Banco Sabadell.